Apple Pay Usage Declined on Black Friday Over Last Year Per New Study

[jinnj]

It's beyond frustrating because I can never remember which stores take it and which don't.

All these places have the NFC readers but only like 10% take Apple Pay. Even places like Best Buy, not all of their stores take it.

Bad job by Apple not getting this out to more customers. Why hasn't Starbucks signed up? Why haven't any grocery stores signed up?

I've only used it at BB, GameStop, McDs, and Panera Bread.

There's a pizza place that has Apple stickers everywhere saying they take it, but they don't have an NFC card reader. How is that possible? How can I report this to Apple?

My local Walgreens has a Google Wallet only NFC terminal and Apple Pay works on it. Whenever you see the NFC terminal just try it.

 

[ptb42]

This makes me wonderif there is more to it than we see on the surface. Is somebody gettimg a backhander somewhere? Are Apples terms ridiculous? Is it unreliable etc etc?

Apple has nothing to do with merchant terminals, or merchant fees. Their cut of the fee is paid by the bank, and the merchant doesn't pay an increased fee simply by accepting Apple Pay.

However, NFC readers are more expensive. And, some of the credit card transaction processors are imposing additional service fees to accept NFC. Maybe someone with an insider perspective can provide the details.

 

[H2SO4]

In the UK Apple Pay has an upper limit of £30. I bought a number of things in sales this last week and all were online and none were using Apple Pay.

That said, I use AP all the time for supermarket purchases, it makes paying and getting out of the door so much faster compared to cash or card.

I 'kind of' use it on the Amazon App. (5S). I can authenticate purchases with a fingerprint. Quite cool actually.

 

[jinnj]

I think most people did their shopping online (read that a few places). So I think in person transactions would be down, so this does make sense.

I know I haven't set foot in one store. Anyone in north jersey, that knows the mess that is the garden state plaza during the holidays, stays far away. Anyone sane anyway!

I hate that area during non-holidays and during Christmas it is terrible. I once parked so far that the mall was barely in view. Well over 1/2 a mile away.

And yes Black Friday sales were down 40% this season and the online store sales beat the Brick & Mortar stores.

 

[jinnj]

I 'kind of' use it on the Amazon App. (5S). I can authenticate purchases with a fingerprint. Quite cool actually.

That will definitely not count as that is just a Touch ID authentication for the Amazon App (good use for it!).

 

[drumcat]

Well, here is the thing with this survey. November 2014, the iPhone 6/6+ were the only devices with it, and it was only a month old (3 months for the phone). Today, there are 14 months worth of iPhone 6/6+ sales, Apple Watches, and iPhone 6s/6s+ sales. In other words, a larger pool of "eligible" transactions.

What are the raw numbers? How many transactions? Did it go from 100,000 to 1 million, but represent a decline % wise? And what defines an "Apple Pay" eligible transaction? Every transaction made at Apple Pay accepting stores, regardless if the customer has an Apple Pay ready device?

Lots of questions, very light on the facts, and the facts provided tell us almost nothing.

Exhibit 23955739 of Statistics can say anything you want. Despite the wavy line, I imagine the total purchases is more like a hockey stick upwards.

 

[Jsameds]

I 'kind of' use it on the Amazon App. (5S). I can authenticate purchases with a fingerprint. Quite cool actually.

That's the thing, I rarely go via a dedicated app to purchase from a retailer - it's always via the website and Safari.

As far as I'm aware, there's very little incentive to use Apple Pay over card when purchasing online. The only benefit is not having to enter your card details if you're signing up to a new site, but that's pretty rare these days as I'm already signed up and got my card details stored for most places.

 

[Stella]

Not surprised, retail sales were down this year... internet sales UP!

Apple Pay following the same trend.

 

[2010mini]

Not surprising as in-store Black Friday shopping was down significantly from last year. Most of the sales came via online purchases. I am sure this had to in some way affect NFC transactions on a whole.

 

[iGeek2014]

As with the other posts re: the UK part of our problem is the £30 contactless limit. Sure some stores (like M&S, Waitrose, Nando's) are subject to the cards' available funds rather than the cap for standard NFC plastic.

Then you have stores like Sainsbury's who have contactless capable terminals but no contactless/Apple Pay.

We need more places to realise that it's much more secure than someone swiping your wallet and using contactless that way.

 

[andyyardley]

This makes me wonderif there is more to it than we see on the surface. Is somebody gettimg a backhander somewhere? Are Apples terms ridiculous? Is it unreliable etc etc?

It's not going anything to do with Apple as they use a standard protocol created by EMVCo.

EMV (Chip and Pin) has reduced the point of sale card fraud in Europe considerably, our fraud is way lower then in the US. It's ultimately the card schemes, acquirers and payment gateways in the US which have changed the agreements to force EMV on the merchants to reduce their own fraud liability. Now it's the merchants problem if they take a fraudulent card without EMV.

I'm not sure EMV Contactless is part of this agreement though, which is the variant of the protocol transferred over NFC and used by contactless cards and ApplePay.

 

[aajeevlin]

What is really worst is the general training, and implementation. It's not just which store has Apple Pay (NFC), its also WHO you are dealing with at the time when you visit the store. I have been using Apple Pay at this particular store for about five times now. Every time I say I want to do Apple Pay I get, "No, we don't take Apple Pay here". And I have to say "Yes, you do. I did it with your manager just last time (which I really did the first time)." Then they will let me try and it will always work. This is not one of those mom and pop store that I'm talking about, this is a one of the biggest store.

The general lack of widespread implementation is annoying.

 

[maxsix]

I thought it would be higher with more Apple watches making it easier. I'm in Canada and it's not widespread. I would totally use it though.

Apple Watch and Apple Pay are contemporary gimmicks.

Primarily designed to grab headlines and fatten Apples already obese cash cow, like any gadget or fad the popularity fades in time.

 

[gixxerfool]

Is it a credit or debit card? And if it's a credit card, have you actually had to enter the PIN in the US?

Wells Fargo issues PINs with their credit cards, but the cards are coded to require a signature first, and only ask for a PIN if you are using an unattended terminal that can't accept a signature. In the US, you'll be asked for a signature.

The intention was to support the use of these cards at unattended gas pumps, etc. in Europe. But in my experience, it doesn't work: the unattended terminals don't know how to handle it and reject the card.

This is a debit. My Wf credit card is old school.

 

[Sasparilla]

Have to mention with the additional time penalty of Chip card payment which is very noticeable (compared to the old less than a second swipe) I'm wanting to use ApplePay even more now...but it depends on the store.

Didn't realize it till I just did a search but the big grocer in our Chicago area (Jewel Osco) added ApplePay last year with their new terminals. Their new terminals are just black and say nothing about ApplePay or NFC and just flew under my radar. Between Jewel taking ApplePay and using Meijer as an alternative to Target (which still doesn't take ApplePay) that covers most of my weekly shopping needs (TraderJoe's handling the other big parts) - time to put some energy back into using it.

 

[noty]

I didn't do any in-store shopping during Black Friday but I used Apple Pay in the Target, Best Buy and Jack Threads apps. Most of the stores I go to frequently simply don't accept Apple Pay.

 

[BruiserB]

Have to mention with the additional time penalty of Chip card payment which is very noticeable (compared to the old less than a second swipe) I'm wanting to use ApplePay even more now...but it depends on the store.

Yea, Apple needs to do an ApplePay commercial highlighting the difference in time of someone doing a chip transaction vs. ApplePay. Since the additional wait time is new and painful to most people now, Apple should strike now and point out that you can avoid this by using ApplePay.

 

[gsmornot]

I didn't do any in-store shopping during Black Friday but I used Apple Pay in the Target, Best Buy and Jack Threads apps. Most of the stores I go to frequently simply don't accept Apple Pay.

I did and didn't want to but for the first year in a long time it was a pleasant experience. The stores were not crowded and the people were nice. I did not see any of the mayhem here that I saw on the news, thank goodness. We have shopped online too and while at the stores but overall the in-store experience this year was good.

Read an article the other day saying people are starting to avoid stores that ask you to use the chip in your card. Its slow and they want fast so they shop somewhere else.

 

[ptb42]

Have to mention with the additional time penalty of Chip card payment which is very noticeable (compared to the old less than a second swipe) I'm wanting to use ApplePay even more now...but it depends on the store.

I don't think it's really any slower, or at least not as much as some people believe.

You notice it, because you have to wait for the terminal to complete the authorization before removing your card. But, the mag-stripe swipe had to do the same thing -- it just didn't require you to wait FOR YOUR CARD.

However, you had to wait for the authorization to complete and start printing the receipt -- that's comparable to the time it is now "holding" your card.

 

[jclardy]

Could it be users that use Apple Pay ordered stuff online this year? What is an "eligible transaction?" Does it mean any transaction with an NFC terminal?

I'm pretty sure retail sales were down this year from last, and most people buying stuff on the internet would be using a website, even if they are on an iPad. So to me it just seems there are less transactions overall, and the people that would use Apple Pay in the first place aren't even the ones in the store to use it (As they are buying things online.)

 

[gsmornot]

I don't think it's really any slower, or at least not as much as some people believe.

You notice it, because you have to wait for the terminal to complete the authorization before removing your card. But, the mag-stripe swipe had to do the same thing -- it just didn't require you to wait FOR YOUR CARD.

However, you had to wait for the authorization to complete and start printing the receipt -- that's comparable to the time it is now "holding" your card.

Its been my experience that I could swipe my card during the scanning of my items. Once done scanning I just hit the OK button and was done. With the chip, the process only begins after the scanning so the time taken is longer.

 

[jclardy]

I don't think it's really any slower, or at least not as much as some people believe.

You notice it, because you have to wait for the terminal to complete the authorization before removing your card. But, the mag-stripe swipe had to do the same thing -- it just didn't require you to wait FOR YOUR CARD.

However, you had to wait for the authorization to complete and start printing the receipt -- that's comparable to the time it is now "holding" your card.

But it is still slower, because you are still holding out your wallet/purse to put your card back versus just putting it away after a swipe. When your "average joe" user is complaining about the experience then you know that there is something wrong.

 

[levitynyc]

I ask "Do you take ApplePay" and the majority of the time its either, "what is that" or "sorry no, we have not been setup yet". The terminals look like they have been there for many years. I use it where its available from both a watch and a phone but its hard to find places that take the service and hard to find cashiers that know what button to press to make the terminal ready for the payment. Walgreens, Subway and a few others are consistently good. I'm sticking with this hoping it will be more widespread. I have a feeling with the slow process that chips have added to cards more people and stores will be willing to accept a payment process that for me would be faster at checkout. They need to stop with all the extras after contactless payments though if they want this to be faster. I scan my phone in some stores only to be asked questions and asked for a signature. No need for that when I had to use bio-metrics to approve to begin with.

Oh I love when I still have to sign.

I also love when certain apps allow finger print logins but require a password to use certain features.

 

[ptb42]

Its been my experience that I could swipe my card during the scanning of my items. Once done scanning I just hit the OK button and was done. With the chip, the process only begins after the scanning so the time taken is longer.

That's an implementation detail at the retailer. I've been able to insert my card during the check-out process. Others won't accept it until the total is ready. I've seen it for mag-stripe swipes as well.

It may have been a choice by the implementer: you could swipe your card and put it back in your wallet/purse, but they don't want you to insert your card and leave it unattended during checkout.

But whether it is a mag-stripe swipe or a chip reader, the authorization can't start until the total amount is computed. If the terminal is connected to the 'Net, authorization is usually very fast. But, if it's a phone-line terminal, it must dial the call first. Either way, you have to wait -- and it's more apparent if it's holding your card.

 

[dbri306]

New contact terminals make it possible to pay by just taping your credit card on the terminal. It takes about a second. Service is available in most stores in my area. How can it be faster and more convinient? On other hand here in Canada Apple made an arrangement with credit card that is more like a zebra. So no real Apple Pay for now.